The TGF-β superfamily refers to a protein group that preserves the characteristic arrangement of cysteine in mature molecule, and is known to exhibit diverse actions on various cells and tissues. Particularly, it has a significant effect on the functions of autonomic nerve responsible for various reflexes, various sensory and motor nerves, monoaminergic nerve, cholinergic nerve, GABAergic nerve, glutamatergic nerve and various peptidergic nerves.
Of the TGF-β superfamily, GDNF (glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor) and GDF (growth/differentiation factor)—15 are known to play an important role for autonomic nerve function responsible for various reflexes, various sensory and motor nerve functions, and monoaminergic nerve function [Neuron, 15, p. 1465-1473, 1995; Nature, 403, p. 312-316, 2000; Nature, 407, p. 1011-1015, 2000; Journal of Neuroscience, 20, p. 8597-8603, 2000; Neuroreport, 9, p. 2183-2187, 1998].
In the meantime, a compound represented by the formula (I), which is the active ingredient in the present invention, is described in WO01/14372 as a neurotrophin production/secretion promoter.
However, there is no report on the use of said compound as a TGF-β superfamily production/secretion promoter.